I cook him dinner.

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I cook him dinner.

SVOO (Indirect Objects, To/For)

Intermediate

Previously, you learned to form SVO sentences, such as 'I cook dinner.' After this lesson, you will be able to say who you cook for in the same sentence.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

I cook dinner.
I cook us dinner.
I cook dinner for us.

Parents teach manners.
Parents teach their children manners.
Parents teach manners to their children.

Students ask questions.
Students ask the teacher questions.
Students ask questions to the teacher.

Grammar Focus

I give somebody something.

In a previous lesson, we learned the SVO sentence structure. The object in an SVO sentence is actually a direct object: it is the thing that receives the action.

Students ask questions. (What do the students ask? --'Questions')

Sometimes we want to specify the person/people who receive the direct object. In this case, we use an indirect object:

Students ask the teacher questions. (Who do the students ask questions? --'The teacher')

Both types of objects are affected by the action (V in SVO), but the direct object answers the question 'what?' and the indirect object answers 'for whom?' and 'to whom?'.

This sentence follows the pattern Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object.

Tip

You can remember this pattern with the sentence, "I give somebody something."

Indirect Object Pronouns

In English, the indirect object pronouns are the same as the direct object pronouns.

He cooks me dinner.
I cook us dinner.
Your friend cooks you dinner.
Bob cooks him/her/it dinner.
Susan cooks them dinner.

When do we not use the SVOO pattern?

Sometimes it is more natural to use 'to' or 'for' instead of SVOO.

Avoid SVOO with more than one pronoun. Take this sentence for example: 'I give the dog a cookie'.

I give it it. (SVOO is confusing and unnatural.)
I give a cookie to it. (This sentence is natural)
I give it to the dog. (This sentence is natural)

Avoid SVOO with less common verbs or verb phrases. Only use SVOO with common verbs similar to 'give', such as 'lend', 'pay', 'send', 'throw', 'bring', 'cook' (food for someone), and 'sing' (a song for someone).